1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to an automatic cassette duplicating machine which successively automatically removes blank cassettes from a magazine, positions the blank cassettes in the tape transport, records the duplicate tape, discharges the duplicate, and performs the foregoing operations sequentially repetitively.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There have been a number of efforts to devise structures whereby one cassette after another can be brought into a tape transport for use. Usually, these structures are for the successive play of pre-recorded cassette tapes. With the increasing use of cassettes as music tapes, there has been a desire to provide automatic changers so that such music tapes can be successively played. Among the efforts to provide a suitable device for this purpose is the apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,667,624. The prior cassette-changing structures have not been economically successful because of their complexity and have not been suitable for cassette-to-cassette duplication.
The usual equipment for tape duplication is apparatus wherein a large number of duplicates are made at one time by running and recording many duplicates at one time and recording them all at the same time from a single master. That type of equipment is widely used, but is not feasible for, and does not have the recording flexibility inherent in, automatic, unattended, sequential, one-at-a-time recording of duplicates from a master while both the master tape and the duplicate tape are disposed in cassette housings.